


Campfire Nights

by Mystic_Harley



Category: Naruto
Genre: Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Gen Work, One Shot, Team Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2020-05-16 10:41:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19316545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mystic_Harley/pseuds/Mystic_Harley
Summary: On the way home from the wave, Sakura and Naruto get a chance to bond as teammates.





	Campfire Nights

The return trip from the disaster of a mission from the Land of Waves were slow going and more importantly to Sakura, quiet. Sasuke was still recovering and even though Naruto insisted he was fine, Sakura still held hidden doubts deep within her heart that he wasn’t doing as great as he said he was.   
  
The quiet was starting to unnerve actually. She hadn’t expected Sasuke or Kakashi to actually say much on the trip, they weren’t known for talking anyways, but Naruto hadn’t said much either, beyond affirmations and brief check ins with Sasuke. It was starting to scare her a little that he had his eyes mostly downcast whenever they had to stop and camp for the night.   
  
Of course, he had watched Sasuke nearly die, to the point where he genuinely thought Sasuke  _ did _ die. Sakura wasn’t an expert on psychology or anything but even she knew that had to be traumatizing for him, because in her heart she knew that Naruto loved them all very much despite the fact that they hadn’t been together for long. With how he treated them, it was like he knew them his whole life and they were family.   
  
That word stuck with her a little as Team 7 slowed down again for the night. They went through the motions of setting up a small campfire and their packs, but Sakura thought about what family really meant to the rest of her team.    
  
To Sasuke, she knew that family meant nothing but loss and hatred. The only person he would even consider family was a missing nin and if the bingo books were to be believed, one of the most dangerous criminals in the country. The rest of his clan were all dead.   
  
But to Naruto, she had no idea what he thought of family. As far as she could see in the academy he didn’t  _ have _ a family, in the traditional sense at least. She frowned as she thought about it, how easily he empathized with Inari and helped him find the courage to move on from his father’s death. The image of a sad little boy, sitting alone on the swing outside the academy blossomed into her mind.   
  
She shivered in spite of herself. It wasn’t cold after all, but she scooted closer to the fire, her knees appreciating the warmth as she flickered her gaze up at Naruto, who was frowning at her. “Are you cold Sakura? You can have my blanket, or my jacket, if you’d like.”   
  
“I wouldn’t be caught  _ dead _ wearing that thing Naruto.” She replied back easily, feeling a sense of dread at the idea of wearing that hideous thing. She raised an eyebrow at him when he laughed a little and grinned at her. “What’s so funny?”   
  
“Nothing, really.” He answered vaguely. He turned his gaze to the fire, quieting down after that. Sasuke was resting a couple of feet away from them all, and she had absolutely no idea where their sensei was, but she suspected he wasn’t very far either.   
  
“Hey, Naruto.” She started, playing with some stray strands of hair, glancing up at him curiously. “Do you mind if I ask you a question?”    
  
The fact he looked so happy and eager sent an internal alarm screaming at her that something was not right about that. His whole face lit up and he nodded enthusiastically. “Of course! You can ask me anything!”    
  
She tapped her finger on her knee thoughtfully, thinking over how to word it without coming across as too harsh. The silence stretched on for a while and she saw Naruto shuffling awkwardly in the dim light of the fire, until she finally spoke again. “Why do you like me so much Naruto?”   
  
He blinked, cocking his head curiously. “Eh? What do you mean? What’s not to like about you?”   
  
Huffing, Sakura gave him a glare. “Answer the question Naruto, don’t be cagey with me.” He bristled at the accusation. “You seem to worship the ground I walk on, why?”    
  
There was a long silence after that. The fire crackling and the brief rustling of Sasuke moving in his sleeping bag were the only sounds as Sakura watched Naruto with curious eyes. Truthfully she wasn’t expecting him to put so much thought into the question, chewing on his lip and glancing at her with unsure, anxious eyes.   
  
“You’re honest with me.” He said slowly, taking a little breath and glancing up at her again. “You don’t lie to me, or tell me a half-truth or anything. You don’t hide stuff from me. You don’t ignore me.”    
  
“Naruto, I’m not  _ nice  _ to you. I…” She took a breath, feeling a shameful flush creep up her neck. “I call you mean things, I even said I  _ hated _ you once straight to your face.” She brushed a lock of hair out of her face. “I sure wouldn’t like someone like that.”   
  
Her teammate shrugged, as if that particular fact didn’t even bother him. “Yeah, but you’re straight with me about it. You talk to me. Everyone else just ignores me really. Iruka’s… Iruka’s the only other person who really  _ talks _ to me Sakura. I like that. Besides you only yell at me when I annoy you, so that’s fine.”   
  
That made her dreadfully uncomfortable. She felt her chest squeeze on her heart at the idea that Naruto would endure even worse abuses from someone because they gave him attention. Her mind started playing over possibilities of people taking advantage of him and his kindness. Her chest squeezed tighter at the thought.    
  
He didn’t deserve that.   
  
She shifted herself, hugging her knees to her chest and staring into the fire like it held all of the answers. “I’m sorry for all of that, you know. Even when you  _ are _ annoying.”    
  
He shrugged again, glancing up at the sky, towards the twinkling stars in the sky. “It’s not a big deal, really. You don’t have to apologize.”   
  
No, that wasn’t right and she knew it. Sakura moved closer, so she was sitting next to him. She watched carefully as Naruto’s eyes widened and he squirmed a little. Discomfort was written all over his face and she moved back a little bit to give him some more room, but she was looking at him now. “Naruto, you know I don’t like you like that back. But…. I wouldn’t mind being your friend, you know.”   
  
It was like the wind had been taken from his lungs. He stared at her, mouth hanging open a little and she had the distinct impression that this was probably the first time someone had ever said those words to him. The color in his face seemed to drain a little as he swallowed, unable to look her in the eye. “You… you really want to be my friend?” His voice was soft, almost like a whisper. “Even when I’m… I’m…. “   
  
She stopped him finishing that sentence by leaning over and gently touching him on the arm. “Yes, Naruto. We’re teammates after all, I’d like to be friends with you.”   
  
He bit his lip again, glancing down at her hand and his own shifted a little bit, before he stopped himself and looked down at the ground. She gave a little smile and grabbed his hand gently, and squeezed. He squeezed back. “I don’t want you to get into trouble. I don’t want you to be denied going in shops or being charged for overpriced food or any of that stuff. I’m… trouble.”    
  
Sakura’s heart threatened to shatter on the spot, before a burning rage towards her fellow visitors mended it together and made it stronger than ever. With a determined frown, she yanked him close and pulled him in for a tight hug. “I  _ promise _ you Naruto, you aren’t trouble. And I won’t let people walk all over me because of that. We’re  _ teammates. _ If they don’t like that we spend time together as teammates, then they need to go back to the academy because they’re not very intelligent.”   
  
He hugged her back tightly, sniffling and doing his best to hold back the noises he was making as his shoulders shook and his tears stained her top. “Thank you.” He croaked against her shoulder.    
  
She squeezed him a little. “Don’t thank me Naruto.” She whispered softly. “Just let it all out and get to sleep.” Sakura vowed to talk to her sensei about this as soon as possible. She glanced around, before finally spotting the silver haired jonin leaning against one of the trees. Although he was reading his dirty book again, she had the feeling that he was watching them.   
  
After Naruto’s tears had been dried up, he moved into his sleeping bag and stared up at the stars again, one of his hands rubbing along the seal that held the Kyuubi in place. He yawned and felt his eyes start to close.    
  
Sakura wanted to be his friend. She  _ wanted _ to be with him and hang out. He couldn’t help but feel like he was walking on clouds at the mere thought of it. He felt a little childish wishing beyond hope that his teammates would want that but to have it actually happen?   
  
_ Wait until Iruka hears. _ He thought, before drifting off into a peaceful slumber. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks a million to Fen for giving me the inspiration to write this and to get me back into Naruto in general. I love the idea of Team 7 being more a Found Family than other teams and I hope to write more stories like this in the future.


End file.
